A Taste of Time

by Abby Goldsmith

Release: May 2004
Format: Short Story
Genre: Fantasy
Audience: Adults
Content: Definite Time Travel
Original Language: English

A bottle of wine mysteriously appears inside Jane’s apartment on her 29th birthday with the cryptic message Tabula Rasa—Warning: There Is No Return. So since she is suicidal and drunk and other things associated with country music songs, Jane swallows a mouthful, figuring that the worst it could be is a dignified poison.

Jane gagged on the sour taste in her mouth. She was so dizzy, she’d fallen. . . but she was sitting in an office chair, with no memory whatsoever of leaving her dark and quiet apartment.

Florescent lights beat down on her, and the familiar voices of a call center surrounded her. None of this was possible. She was back at her old workplace. It was a workday, late afternoon, judging by the angle of light. Ultimata Insurance had laid her off months ago, yet here she was.

DEBUT

“A Taste of Time,” in Deep Magic, May 2004.

VARIANTS

1 English variant

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